Imagine a neighborhood of these...

Tired of apartment buildings, strip malls and office parks? How about a neighborhood of lofts and offices over some cool independent coffeehouses (like yesterday's), cafes and pubs - a whole community of these places like the ones here in SoHo, Manhattan. And of course, oh, about ten times less expensive.

That's the vision more and more cities and investors have in store for many of us - human-scaled, mixed-use urban buildings with lots of daylighting (ie large windows), tall ceilings and unique retail and dining below. The contemporary urban rowhouse/townhouse if you will - sometimes an entrepreneur will even take both the commercial below and housing above as a live-work unit.

The benefits over those one-block buildings? No lifeless double-loaded corridors, replaced with much more individuality. The difference it makes on the street as far as character is concerned is priceless.

What kinds of buildings do you want to live in? What buildings have inspired you? Speak your mind below...